September 16, dusk.
Before it got dark, Leo arrived at the city lord's official residence of Jaffa.
Walking into the courtyard, Leo's eyes were attracted by the white horse in the stable. A group of servants were busy around it, equipping it with a gorgeous visor, a brocade horse coat, a luxurious saddle inlaid with gems, and gold-plated stirrups.
"Fancy decorations, that's not my father's style."
Leo walked into the study and found Vitus sitting at the desk processing documents. He couldn't help but mention the horses in the courtyard.
Vitus sighed and put down the gift list in his hand.
"Before attacking Egypt, I inspected the military camp and discussed saddles with a Tatars officer named Zarantsai. Unexpectedly, he took this matter to heart. When we entered Cairo, he led his troops into the royal stables of Sultan, snatched many gorgeous harnesses and gave them to me.
When the news spread, the officers followed suit and sent a lot of messy gifts of various kinds, which filled three ships. Alas, it was really troublesome."
Leo stood there, not begging for gifts like he did when he was a child. This war was exhausting both physically and mentally. Now he didn't want to worry about anything and just wanted to have a good rest.
In the early morning of the next day, the fleet put away its anchor and left Jaffa port one after another.
The situation at North Africa and Levant has not yet been completely stabilized. Vitus only brought thousands of people back to Constantinople. The remaining troops were stationed in various places until Frontier Army took over the defense.
On a warm autumn day, Leo stood on the deck blowing the sea breeze, recalling the scene when we first set out. At that time, I was only sixteen years old, and now I am eighteen. In just two years, it feels like half a lifetime has passed.
If you think about it carefully, the same is true for the members of the Artillery company. Some of the Greece recruits were timid when they first joined the army. After experiencing several actual battles, their entire personalities have transformed, as if they were different people.
As we sailed away from the offshore area, the sea surface turned into a deep cobalt blue, the bow of the ship split layers of white waves, and the crew hummed vulgar folk songs.
On September 25, the fleet arrived at Rhodes.
Last month, Knights Hospitaller completed the handover ceremony ahead of schedule, and the island was taken over by the Eastern Roman Empire army. Vitus visited the island's defense facilities and was filled with doubts.
"In 1522, Ottoman dispatched more than 80,000 troops and hundreds of warships to besiege Rhodes. It took six months and still failed to break the last fortress. Ottoman's ability to attack fortresses was too poor."
Subsequently, Ottoman Sultan could not bear the tragic casualties and allowed Knights Hospitaller to evacuate Rhodes in exchange for the Knights' early surrender.
This move preserved the vitality of the Knights, who set up a new headquarters in Malta and continued to engage in piracy activities. In 1565, Ottoman was forced to attack Malta Island, repeating Siege Warfare in Rhodes...
October On the fifth day, Constantinople appeared in the lookout's field of vision. Dozens of sailboats maintained a column and slowly sailed towards Julian Harbor in the southeast of the city.
A few days ago, when the fleet passed Dardanelles Strait, the defenders sent riders to report the news of the fleet to Constantinople. The crown prince discussed with the civil officials and decided to spend money to hold a grand triumphal ceremony.
As the flagship slowly docked, Vitus saw that the dock was crowded with people. Julian Naval Church in the distance had been completed, and the towering brass dome reflected the dazzling sunlight.
Since Central Administration held a triumphal ceremony, Vitus did not refuse. He asked the guards to carry the seized foreign coins into the carriage. According to ancient customs, the motorcade marched along the streets, and the soldiers threw coins along the way to celebrate.
Not long after, Vitus signaled the carriage to stop at the door of Naval Church, and got off to visit the dome murals inside.
"Golden Horn News" praised the mural for its magnificence. The moment Vitus saw the mural, he felt that the news reports were right.
The upper part of the painting is a clear, cloudless sky. The artist deliberately chose to leave it blank and did not draw angels or guardian saints.
The lower part is the blue sea, with dozens of Battleships lined up in two parallel straight lines, with masts like forests, and snow-white sails like white clouds. Orange-red firelight and large white fog are spitting out from the side of the ship. A Venice warship appears tilted, and the nearby sea is filled with several small figures.
The most valuable thing is that the artist visited some of the participants in the war, consulted Admiralty about the rough outlines of the participating ships, and tried his best to restore the exact positions of the two flagships (Nesos and Murano) in the battle line, as well as the order of the remaining battleships.
On the periphery of the battle line, there are some scattered Cruiser and Galleass battleships. The artist also referred to the battle briefing to find a prototype for each battleship in the oil painting.
This move aroused admiration from those who participated in the war, but also caused many complaints because some battleships did not appear in the oil painting.
Faced with complaints from relevant personnel, Minister of the Navy temporarily came up with a compensation measure:
In the room next to the hall, a sand table is placed, and models of each warship participating in the war are placed according to the war situation at that time.
"I wonder what will happen after Army Church is completed?"
Vitus sighed for a moment, returned to the carriage outside, and continued this boring grand triumphal ceremony.
Mamluk occupies Nile Delta and Red Sea Trade Route, Finance is abundant. Vitus has been fighting for half his life. This is the war in which he has captured the most money. It is harmless to let the soldiers throw away a few carts of coins, and it should be regarded as promoting the consumption of Constantinople.
"Venice is rich, but the battle lasted too long, and the opponent's funds have long been exhausted.
The same is true for Ottoman. I have been entangled with them for more than 20 years. The two Sultan sold most of their treasures as military expenses and captured only a limited amount.
White Sheep Dynasty's territory was searched in advance by Uzong Hassan, and the least supplies were seized.
There are only two really profitable wars, the attack on Golden Horde and the attack on Mamluk. Their situation is similar, they look huge, but in fact they will fall with one poke. Venice lasted for three years, and Mamluk collapsed in less than half a year."
At noon, Vitus returned to the Blachernae Palace after a long absence.
After lunch, he arranged the recent work priorities to Romanus and Cabinet members:
To calculate military merit, refer to the officer resumes stored in the Army Department and Admiralty to confirm the final reward list.
Form Levant Frontier Army and numerous Garrison District.
Hold civil service examinations as scheduled, increase the number of admissions this year, and enrich the administrative structure of the newly occupied areas as soon as possible.
At the end of the meeting, the Chancellors resigned one after another, leaving only Romanus in the main hall, reporting to the emperor their experiences in supervising the country during this period.
The conversation lasted for a long time, and Romanus mentioned the policy of Egypt. If conditions allowed, he suggested collecting some additional grain and distributing free bread to the citizens.
Vitus replied, "Do you think that by giving out free bread, people will always be loyal to Palaiologos? If you really think so, you are too naive.
The "bread and circuses" policy lasted for hundreds of years. After the second century, Rome not only had free bread, but also free olive oil, free wine, free salt pork, and free circuses during festivals... The result? How many times did the dynasty change?"
Eastern Roman Empire has been in a state of Finance shortage for a long time, and Vitus has no idea of restoring the "free bread" policy.
As for other social relief, such as medical care, relief for disaster victims, and support for orphans, Eastern Roman Empire already has relevant institutions.
Constantinople has "Holy Orphanage", and the person in charge of this institution, "the director of the orphanage (phantph)", is a high-ranking imperial official.
Eastern Roman Empire also has nursing homes, almshouses, leprosy hospitals, and mission hospitals all over the country, all of which require Finance funding subsidies.
When Vitus first came into contact with this matter, the first thing he thought of was the Northern Song Dynasty.
During the Chongning period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court established Welfare Institute (nurturing orphans and the elderly), Medical Relief Bureau (medical system), Public Cemetery (cemetery), and Ever-Normal Granary (responsible for distributing grain in disaster years).
Every winter, the imperial court distributed rice and beans to the "old, sick and poor" people until the beginning of the next spring.
As the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng Prefecture's welfare was more complete, demonstrating the dignity of "the first king". There was no curfew in the city, the economy was unprecedentedly prosperous, and a new class of citizens was born.
Unfortunately, this good life did not last long. Chongning was the second reign of Emperor Huizong. Twenty years later, Jurchen invaded and the Northern Song Dynasty perished.
Vitus feels that the current relief system has reached the upper limit before the industrial revolution. The productivity is insufficient and more resources cannot be used to relieve the poor.
"I have always believed that the empire owns Constantinople, not that Constantinople owns the empire.
If your uncle (John VIII) were in office and he had a kind personality, Constantinople citizens would really be able to eat free bread. Ironically, Constantinople people took the initiative to force him to abdicate. Who can blame him?"
Romanus After thinking about it for a long time, I felt that what my father said was right.
He brought up another troublesome matter - compiling history books.
Vitus responded indifferently, "Michael VIII and Andronikos III's scandals have been spread all over the world for a long time. Can you still hide it? Let the scholars tell it truthfully. There is nothing shameful. The more you hide it, the more interested the people will be, and the more unofficial history in this area will spread.
No matter what they did, at least, everything I own is fair and square. What does the fault of the former emperor have to do with me?"
Vitus sent people to collect people's opinions.
After more than a hundred years, most people no longer pay attention to the early chaos of Palaiologos. Since this century, what they resent is the merger of the Eastern and Western churches. The most representative sentence is:
"I would rather see Ottomans's turban than Latins's crown."
With the abdication of John VIII and the restoration of Three Patriarchates by Vitus (Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexander), the impact of this storm has dissipated, and the public has a positive attitude towards Palaiologos.
A view has become increasingly popular in academic circles:
The former Palaiologos Dynasty followed the system of Komnenos. Administrative System was mixed with Pronoia System. The aristocratic power was unprecedentedly huge. It was neither as efficient as Administrative System nor as stable as Feudal System. The empire suffered from frequent civil strife and its territory shrank repeatedly.
Over the years, the empire has implemented a series of major reforms, abolishing Pronoia System, establishing Civil Service Examination System, and reorganizing administrative agencies. These measures have effectively stabilized the political power and improved administrative efficiency.
To a certain extent, the current regime can be regarded as a new dynasty, but its name is still called Palaiologos.
After talking about business, Vitus felt a little sleepy and wandered around Garden alone to relax.
After many years, the overall layout of Garden has not changed. The biggest difference is that the plants in some flower beds have been replaced by other varieties. Walking around a rose bush, he saw a child waddling around on the grass, chasing a blue butterfly not far away.
Manuel?
When the child heard someone calling his name, he turned around slowly, and when he met Vitus's eyes, he burst into tears. Seeing this, the nearby servants hurriedly gathered around and held some toys to make him happy.
"The little guy seems to be afraid of me."
Vitus was disturbed by Manuel's cries and simply left the area. Passing through a corridor, he suddenly stopped and stared at the graffiti on the wall.
"This one was drawn by Thomas, and this one seems to be drawn by Demetrius."
Vitus was in a complicated mood and remembered the letter sent by Demetrius last month, in which he begged and tried to find another place to retire.
If Demetrius is just indolent, Vitus can tolerate it. Theodore is this type. He has been eating and drinking with Cyprus for a long time. It has been like this for more than 20 years, and he can continue to do so in the future.
But Demetrius went too far. Although Andronikos and Constantine interceded for him, Vitus still refused cruelly and maintained his previous decision.
"Actually, the climate in the north of Horn of Africa is arid, there is no malaria, and there are no so-called large beasts. Demetrius's life will not be in danger. As long as he stays calm, his living standard will still exceed that of most people."
For a long time, Vitus walked along the corridor to the southwest area of Court.
In front of the stable is a civil servant Army Department, holding a pen and paper, consulting the groom about "Tauris horse"'s temperament, food intake and living habits.
Sixteen years ago, Vitus defeated Golden Horde, and after capturing Sarai and Astrakhan, a large number of high-quality horses were captured, such as Arabian horse and Akhal-Teke horse.
After the war ended, he sent these high-quality horses to Chersonesus Stud Farm so that the horse farm could improve the existing war horse breeds.
After Battle of Sakarya, the flaws of the Western Europe heavy cavalry were fully exposed and were replaced by the more mobile Cuirassiers. Vitus put forward clearer requirements to Chersonesus Stud Farm:
Horses can carry Cuirassiers to launch a charge, and have better sustained combat capabilities.
Therefore, in the subsequent breeding process, the racecourse has set targeted indicators, slightly lowering the load-bearing and explosive power indicators, while slightly increasing the endurance indicators.
After three generations of selective breeding, the racecourse has received a batch of qualified mixed-blood war horses, which are currently in the observation stage. If the characteristics of the next generation of war horses remain stable, Tauris horse will serve as the standard war horse for heavy cavalry, gradually replacing the past Western Europe war horses.
"Now that the empire controls Levant and North Africa, the desert area is suitable for the use of camels. Camels should also be included in the Army Department's horse policy plan."
After hearing the emperor's order, the civil servants felt that their workload had increased.
The army currently has four types of Draft Animals: heavy war horses, light war horses, Harness Horse, Pony (during mountain operations, carrying supplies and Three-Pounder).
The civil servant lamented in his heart. "I hope the emperor will not have a sudden idea and add elephants to it."